Robert Edward Lee
1807–70
CSA

His ancestors Richard Henry and Francis Lightfoot Lee signed the Declaration of Independence. His father was a Revolutionary war hero and Governor of Virginia. Robert Lee went to West Point, and afterwards, became a scout in the Mexican War. In 1859, he captured John Brown at Harper’s Ferry. At the start of the Civil War, Lee was offered command of the Union army, but he refused saying “I could take no part in an invasion of the Southern States”. After Virginia seceded, he resigned from the United States Army and accepted command of Confederate defense. Lee was promoted to General and became a military advisor to President Davis.